Call for interesting fruit salad combinations.

In my opinion, fruit salad is one of the best things about summer. I'm going to depart from the traditional cream-of-what requirements here and ask for "recipes" not containing whip cream or any sort of Jello. Just straight fruit, yo. What I'm seeking are especially interesting or unconventional combinations. What've you got? I just thought of this so I don't have my recipes with me, but I'll post them soon. I think I have one involving grapefruit and kiwi and something else. Fruit+veggie salad ideas are welcome too.

Imitation Red Lobster "Cheddar Bay" Biscuits

These biscuits are so simple, and they taste almost exactly like the ones at Red Lobster.


Ingredients:
2 c. Bisquick mix
3/4 c. milk
1/2 c. shredded cheddar
1/8 c. unsalted butter
garlic powder
onion powder
garlic salt

Preheat oven to 375. Combine Bisquick, milk, and cheddar in a mixing bowl. Do not overmix. Drop by large spoonfuls onto a greased baking pan, leaving about an inch between biscuits. Bake until just beginning to turn golden on top. While biscuits are baking, melt the butter and stir in a few liberal dashes of garlic and onion powder. When the biscuits are just beginning to turn golden, take them out of the oven and brush the top of each one with the butter mixture. Sprinkle biscuits with garlic salt, then bake until done.

nana's strawberry surprise

ladies,

this recipe came from the grandmother of one of my parents' college friends. she's only been referred to as nana. she named the recipe "strawberry pretzel dessert." i'm going to rename it "nana's strawberry surprise."

here we go:

for the crust
2 cups crushed pretzels (chunky)
3/4 cup oleo (i used 1/2 C smart balance and 1/4 C real butter and it worked well)
3 tablespoons sugar

mix the ingredients together and press into a 9 x 13 pan. bake @ 375 for 8-10min. let cool

for the rest
8 oz. cream cheese
1 cup sugar
9 oz. cool whip
6 oz. strawberry jello
2 cups boiling water
2 10 oz. packages of frozen strawberries.

blend the cream cheese and sugar until smooth and a little fluffy looking - fold in the cool whip. spread over the pretzel crust

dissolve the jello into the 2 cups of boiling water. stir in the frozen strawberries. let sit for 10 minutes and pour over the cream cheese mixture.

refrigerate until set - but ideally, overnight.

i know, i know. you're thinking, "where's the surprise? you can't call it nana's strawberry surprise without a surprise ingredient." yeah, i know. the surprise is how delicious the pretzel crust turns out. really delicious.

Mystery Ingredient...revealed!

The mystery ingredient is indeed tomato soup. Congratulations for the correct answer go to librarymeow.

Mystery Cake

Can you guess what the secret ingredient is?!? I'll only post it once there are at least 3 guesses.

From Joy of Cooking: "This combination of ingredients makes a surprisingly good cake. But why shouldn't it? The deep secret is _____, which is, after all, a fruit; and curiously contains no eggs or milk."

Have all ingredients at room temperature, above 70 degrees farenheit. Pre-heat oven to 350. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan.

Whisk together thoroughly in a bowl:
2 c. sifted flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. grated or ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. salt

Beat in a large bowl at high speed until light and fluffy about five minutes:

1/4 c. unsalted butter
1 c. sugar

On low speed, beat in the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with:

[mystery ingredient] in two parts, beating until smooth. Fold in:

1 c. chopped walnuts or pecans
1 c. raisins

Scrape the batter into the pan, smoothing the top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Let cool in pan, on rack. Top w/white icing, cream cheese frosting, or dust with confectioner's sugar.

Killer Artichoke Dip

I dedicate this recipe to the New York Giants.

2/3 c. mayo
12 oz. Havarti cheese, coarsely grated (or use Monterey Jack)
one 14 oz. can artichoke hearts, drained well and coarsely chopped. or, if you splurge for the kind that come in glass jars, packed in olive oil, it's extra delicious.
2 bunches of scallions (about 10), white & light green parts only, finely chopped
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients together. Transfer to an oven-proof ceramic dish just large enough to hold the dip (but a glass baking pan that's actually larger than the dip works too.) Bake until heated through and bubbly, about 20 min. The dip will be very hot and tastes best when it has a little time to cool - 5-10 minutes. Serves 4-6.

Infamous Cheesy Ranch Bread

Cut a loaf of french or italian bread in half, lengthwise, and lay the halves side by side (with the non-crust part facing up).

Mix together 1 stick melted margarine, 1 tsp powdered buttermilk ranch dressing mix, and 2 tbsp. mayonnaise. Spread on both halves of bread. Top with shredded cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 degrees until melted, about 5-10 min.

Cut loaves into slices and serve.